Plover and Stevens Point are among six teams with a legitimate shot to bring home the Class AAA American Legion baseball regional championship this weekend at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids.(Photo: Tori Schneider/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, Tori Schneider/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

Before the start of the American Legion baseball season in early June, first-year Wisconsin Rapids coach Cort Halbur said his team had a to-do list.

At the top of the list was a desire to reach 19 or more wins. Check.

Next up was to return to Wisconsin Valley Legion League relevance for the first time in more than a decade. One way to accomplish that goal was to win the league title.

Rapids checked that off the list with an 11-1 win over Stevens Point on Tuesday to clinch a share of the WVLL championship with Antigo for the first time since 2005.

"(The celebration) was surprisingly calm," said Halbur, who coached the Wisconsin Rapids Ramblers Junior team last season. "We gave them one day to celebrate the conference title and then we got back to work.

"Their main goal is to head to state. They're excited, but the guys know (the conference title) is not the end goal. We still have some unfinished business."

The Wisconsin Rapids American Legion basebal team will look to add a Class AAA regional title this weekend after winning its first Wisconsin Valley Legion League championship since 2005.(Photo: Contributed photo)

The Rangers (19-8) can cross the final item off their list this weekend and earn a trip to the Class AAA state tournament in Marinette next week.

Post 9 will host the regional at Witter Field starting Friday with a state berth at stake. Action will conclude either Monday or Tuesday in the double-elimination tournament.

Wisconsin Rapids and Antigo stood atop the WVLL standings at 10-4. Three teams — Marshfield, Plover and Wausau — finished a game back at 9-5.

The mini-conference tournament shapes up to be a free-for-all. Any of the six teams — D.C. Everest and Stevens Point will also compete — have a legitimate shot to claim the regional crown.

"I wouldn't be surprised if any of the six teams won the regional," said Wausau coach Tom Magnuson, whose team is the two-time defending regional champion. "On any given night, it’s been hard to fathom what's going to go on in our league.

"We’ve played well at the end of the season the last couple of years. In this sort of a tournament, if someone gets hot, that can make all the difference. Those first two days are going to be very interesting."

Plover ruled over the Region 2 tournament the five years prior to the Bulldogs' back-to-back regional titles.

Rapids would like to elbow its way into the list of regional champions and Halbur feels there are a number of reasons to believe this might be the Rangers' year.

With the three-headed monster of Ethan Peters, Caleb Krommenakker and Donovan Brandl on the mound, they appear well-armed for a deep run.

Rapids also owns a .360 team batting average, with seven regulars who are hitting .400 or better.

"We have a very deep staff. We have three guys who are really interchangeable. On any given night, any of them can go out and throw a complete-game shutout," said Halbur, who also mentioned Nate Jackan and Cody Bredl on the pitching depth chart.

"At the beginning of the year, we talked about how we needed to come out ready to play every night and not take any team lightly."

Coaches were unanimous in their belief the regional championship this year, maybe more than any time over the past decade, is up for grabs.

In a six-team regional, pitching depth becomes even more important. So too is the need to win the tournament opener and avoid the loser's bracket.

D.C. Everest and Plover are scheduled to kick things off at 1 p.m. Friday. Wausau and Marshfield meet at 4 p.m., with Stevens Point and the host Rangers set to collide at 7 p.m.

“I think it’s between Rapids, Marshfield, Plover and Wausau. All of those teams finished one game apart in the conference,” he said. “I think it comes down to starting pitching and pitching depth. I like our depth.

“I would say Marshfield is still the favorite because they have the best overall resume.”